A look at the Celtics' second test

Ready or not, boys and girls, Round 2 is beginning. Now that the first round near-nightmare is over, we can get back to business, right? Not just yet. I won't make that same mistake again.

When the Celtics started play in the first round, I was thinking sweep. After two games, I was feeling even better about that prediction --- and so were you. But then Games 3 and 4 happened and then things got back to normal. But then Game 6 happened and everyone around New England began seeing flashbacks of Grady Little and Dino Radja. Thankfully, Game 7 happened and order was completely, rightfully, blatantly and violently restored to the basketball universe.

Now comes the next test --- and this one won't be so easy either. You see, while the Atlanta Hawks may have featured Joe Johnson and a host of athletic players, the Cavaliers have some guy named LeBron. And we've heard he's pretty good. This will certainly be a test and the region is very excited about this.

Here's my try at a series preview. Enjoy and let those Vitaly Potapenko flashbacks pass. There is light at the end of this tunnel.

Starting 5 Matchups:

Point Guard:

Delonte West vs. Rajon Rondo

When I first heard that the Cavs would be playing in Round 2, this was the matchup I was most excited to see. If this were Rondo's first playoff series, I would be worried. But after seeing him handle veteran Mike Bibby with ease, I think the possibilities are endless against West. Rondo's numbers are better than Delonte's in all major categories and he is a superior defender, although it will be interesting to see how West responds if the Celtics decide to give it a go at trying to stop LeBron. And we've all seen Delonte when he has the ball on the offensive end.

Still, advantage Celtics here with Rondo's ability to shut West down on the defensive end.

Shooting Guard:

Devin Brown/Wally Sczerbiak vs. Ray Allen

This is really no argument here, although it's likely Wally Sczerbiak will be playing most of the minutes here. Regardless, I look at this matchup as the biggest advantage the Celtics have. Many times during the regular season, Allen was a go-to guy when Pierce and/or Garnett weren't able to get it going. Well, both of them may have their hands tied with tougher matchups. If so, I'm confident Allen will respond well. We're still waiting for that breakout game in the postseason. With any luck, Allen was saving all his big shots for this series. The only wild card will be what the Cavs decide to do with Allen. Brown didn't see much time against the Wizards (14.2 minutes per game) but the Cavs really have no other options.

Big advantage to the Celtics here.

Small Forward:

LeBron James vs. Paul Pierce

As much as I want to tell you about the memorable Pierce-LeBron games from the last few years, I can't honestly believe that Pierce is going to do much on the defensive side against James. Offensively, however, Pierce has shown in past games that he can bring it against him. If I were the Celtics, I would allow LeBron to get his share and try to avoid the 20-plus breakout game from anyone else. Then, if Pierce isn't wasting his energy trying to stop LeBron on the defensive end, he'll likely be able to make up a good amount of those points on the offensive side.

With that said, advantage Cavaliers. Still not sure how much, though.

Power Forward:

Ben Wallace vs. Kevin Garnett

If this were 2002, I'd think a little more deeply about this matchup. But since Ben Wallace is not as much of a presence on the boards and on defense, I give this to KG in all aspects. If there was one thing we took from Garnett's first-round performance, it's that he wants the ball (and should get it) and that he had trouble at times with the athleticism of Al Horford, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. Again, if the C's were to let LeBron have his buckets and try to stop the rest of them, KG will shine. Between Wallace, Ilgauskas, Varejao and anyone else the Cavs can throw in the paint, Kevin Garnett will eat them alive.

Advantage Celtics.

Center:

Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Kendrick Perkins

Hmm. This one really is a toss up for me. As does any of these predictions, I think this matchup depends on the Celtics' plan of attack on defense. If they let LeBron go, and focus on everyone else, Ilgauskas will have a very tough time reaching his 14-plus points per game average. With Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett bruising down low, it will tough for him to do much of anything. Still, without any clue as to how the C's plan on defending this series, you can't count out contributions from Ilgauskas.

For now, I'll call this a wash.

Series Prediction:

As always, it comes down to that Pierce-LeBron matchup. With Doc's offensive coaching ability, I'm confident that he'll find a way to get Pierce and Allen as many looks possible. But, speaking defensively, I'm a bit worried about the stubbornness that we saw in a few of Round 1's fourth quarters.

Nevertheless, I think the Celtics have too much for the Cavaliers to handle and still believe (deep down) that they're on a mission this season. I'll take the Celtics in six.